βιὸν ἠδὲ φαρέτρην
On the bow as a particularly appropriate weapon for night attacks, see the arguments of McLeod 1988. The Townley scholia at this line explain that Odysseus takes the bow so that he can shoot at those who are in the light (as the Trojans would be beside their campfires). McLeod adduces “half a dozen sources, spread over two millennia, testifying to a recurrent connection between the dark of night, the bow, and aiming at light” (McLeod 1988:123). The bow is of course also Odysseus’ signature weapon in the Odyssey, and similar to the lineage of the boar’s tusk helmet below (see 10.267), the bow that Odysseus leaves in Ithaka also has a particular story, being both an heirloom and guest-gift (Odyssey 21.13–41). Steven Farron succinctly describes the importance of the bow in that epic: “Odysseus boasts of his pre-eminence at military archery (Odyssey 8.215–222), establishes his right to Penelope with his skill at using the bow and it is his main weapon against the suitors” (Farron 2003:182). It has been argued (by e.g. Lorimer 1950:296–297 and 483) on this basis that Iliad 10 must be composed later than the Odyssey. On the problems with this argument, see “Interpreting Iliad 10.”